AJ Dillon Fantasy Football Outlook 2022 (How High is His Ceiling?)

After operating mostly as Aaron Jones' backup as a rookie, AJ Dillon carved himself a defined role in the Green Bay Packers offense last season. Playing 43% of offensive snaps, the former Boston College product ended 2021 as the RB23 in PPR fantasy football formats, averaging 10.9 points per game.

Naturally, fantasy managers are wondering whether or not Dillon's performance was legitimate or if he'll assume more of a backup role again this year. Fortunately, all signs point to the 24-year-old being more than just a handcuff once again.

AJ Dillon Fantasy Football Outlook

Even though Jones started 15 games compared to Dillon's two, it was the latter who paced the Packers in carries (187), rushing yards (803) and ground touchdowns (five). Jones ended up being more present in the passing game, however, Dillon still turned 34 receptions in 313 yards and another pair of TDs.

With Davante Adams joining the Las Vegas Raiders, quarterback Aaron Rodgers could rely on his rushers more than ever. Yes, he still has wideout Allen Lazard and rookie Christian Watson to target, but Jones and Dillon are still solid pass-catchers in their own right.

I do think that the Packers will use Dillon as much as they did last year, if not more following Adams' departure. Few NFL teams roll with three-down running backs in this day and age, meaning it's likelier for Jones and Dillon to share rushing opportunities rather than having one dominate the other.

AJ Dillon Projections

Projections from the NFL odds on FanDuel Sportsbook aren't anything special as far as Dillon is concerned. He owns +5000 odds (T-No. 26) to finish the year as the NFL's rushing yard leader. He also sits at +3000 (T-No. 18) to finish with the most rushing TDs in the league.

FanDuel lists Dillon's projected rushing yard total at 750.5 with -112 odds on both the over and under. If he averages the 4.3 yards per carry that he did as a sophomore, it'd take him approximately 175 carries to hit the over on this prop — only 12 fewer than he tallied in 2021.

Is AJ Dillon a Good Fantasy Football Pick?

Dillon proved last year that he was a great fantasy pickup and I expect that to be the case in 2022. His leading the Packers in multiple rushing categories last year indicates that there's a possibility that he could be featured in an even 50-50 role with Jones once again.

For now, Fantasy Pros lists Dillon as the RB27 in PPR formats. He checks in as RB30 in The Duel's preseason fantasy football rankings for PPR leagues. On top of that, he carries an average draft position of 66.2, making him someone that'll likely be off the board by the time Round 6 comes to an end in 12-team formats.

If you've drafted Dillon, don't forget to check out the best Green Bay Packers fantasy football team names for your squad.

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Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.